INNOVATION: TRANSFORMING THE WORLD FOR GOOD(Part 4)

Lyndon B. Johnson, Former President of the United States of America once said:

“If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.”

I am sure everyone agrees with him. Afterall, we grew up interacting with the physical objects around us. Although, in current digital world, social relations have become mediated by data. People and ideas that don't fit the patterns of who we already know, what we already like and where we've already been stands obsolete.

Maria Bezaitis wisely said,

"Safely seeking strangeness can very well be a new basis for innovation".

We all need growth in every sphere of our life and that comes from taking new challenges. Our brain has potential to work even faster than the world's fastest computer. Let's analyze the following situation: When we cross the road, we estimate the ever changing speed of different vehicles on road, keep in mind the fixed distance of the road and adjust our own speed with the changing distance of other vehicles. While calculating all this in mind at one time, don't we cross the road successfully each time? Imagine how difficult it would be if all these calculations have to be done on a computer! A slight mistake in these calculations may not have let us even read this article today!

This proves that our brain definitely has potential to work much better than any other computer. But the million dollar question is how to use this potential? How to really become as fast as a computer? (Secret tip: the answer lies within the question, keep thinking or read further for explanation on the same)

Before that, lets hear Sterling Hawkins talk about: "why discomfort is necessary for innovation"

Innovation helps us create and unlock new value and market place. The attached article explains this in detail:

Technological innovations were meant to help us organize our lives, while others promise to keep us fitter and happier for longer. But, is that it? Check out the below article for glimpse of materials innovation:

Well the culture of innovation is both chaotic and focused, playful and disciplined, it value deep expertise and broad thinking boundary spanners, promotes high standards and tolerates failure hence once high level of self awareness and patience to collaborate is a must for a business to flourish. The above point is explained in detail in the below article:

So yes this article is gonna about Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) thinking?method. SIT is an innovation method developed by Professor Drew Boyd & Professor Jacob Goldenberg, it harnesses five thinking patterns that mankind has used for thousands of years. In the previous articles, we have discussed about thinking outside the box pattern of innovation therefore this time let's try the reverse.

Professor Drew Boyd claims that, "thinking outside the box is a myth". According to research when mind is put into an unconstrained cognitive situation the mind gets overwhelmed because it struggles to search for an idea. It suffers from idea chaos or idea anarchy as it doesn't have anything to grab onto.Before discussing further, lets learn from Erez Tsalik about the various advantages of thinking inside the box:

Indeed interesting, our lives are made up of millions of choices. Some are made for us but it's the choices we make that counts the most. An innovative environment demands even more play. Play is not just an activity; it's a state of mind that brings new energy and sparks creativity. Let me quickly share some key concepts:

Close World Principle: When solving a problem or generating ideas, one should strive to use only those resources that exist in the product or system itself, or in the immediate vicinity.

Functional Fixedness: It is a cognitive bias that limits one to seeing an object only in the way it is traditionally seen or used.

Structural Fixedness: A cognitive bias that prevents you from considering other structures then what you're used to.

Relational Fixedness: A bias that make it difficult to imagine two attributes in a system having some relation or connection.

Lao Tsu rightly said:

To attain?knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.

Innovative ideas share some common characteristics such as simplicity, specificity, ID ality and many more. Lets watch a quick video for your understanding on fixedness:

Surprisingly, we can address our cognitive bias or fixedness by using SIT method. Most innovative products follow one of the five thinking patterns listed below:

TASK UNIFICATION:

For this, we assign a new task/job to the existing resource within the vicinity of the problem. This method is explained in steps for your reference:

Step 1: Start by listing internal and external components

Step 2: Pick a component and assign it an additional task i.e., define it a task

Step 3:Visualize and consider the "virtual product"

Step 4: Ask yourself:

a.Should we do it? Identifying needs, benefits and market

b. Can we do it? Check feasibility and challenges

Ways to apply task unification

• An internal component taking the job of another internal component.
• An internal component taking the job of another external component.
• An external component taking the job of another internal component.

Quick Tips:

1. Don't pick the obvious component instead pick a component randomly
2. Pick something that is non-obvious or counter intuitive
3. Scan the close world to spot less visible external components
4. Don't confuse task aggregation with task unification
5. Use all three types of task unification

SUBSTRACTION:

In this practice, we eliminate the core components rather than an addition of new systems and function. Functional Fixedness is challenged by subtraction.

The below video explains well why our brains struggle to subtract and how functional fixedness works within majority of us unconsciously ;

Significant deviations from the normal thinking pattern ends up in irrelevant data analysis. Hence, this method is explained in the below steps for your reference:

Step 1: List all the internal components of the product or system

Step 2: Remove one component and try to fix the product or system

Step 3:Visualize the resulting "virtual product" by using the concept of connecting the dot. Write down your virtual product details on sticky notes.

Step 4: Then ask yourself:

a. Should we do it?

b. Can we do it?

Step 5: If:

a. Yes, then attempt to replace that function with something from the closed world

b. No, repeat this step by replacing another component till you get a valuable product.

Quick Tips:

1. Don't remove any troublesome component
2. Always try removing essential components because key is visualization
3. Avoid the urge to replace that component
4. Its different from unbundling

MULTIPLICATION

A multiplication of elements already existing in the product along with a qualitative change

Structural Fixedness is challenged by multiplication

Step 1: Start by listing components

Step 2: Pick a component and copy it

Step 3: Change the copied component

Step 4:Visualize and consider the "virtual product"

Step 5: Ask yourself:

a.Should we do it?

b. Can we do it?

Step 5: Attempt to apply closed world principle

Quick Tips:

1. Avoid just adding something to the product because adding new component causes feature creep which adds both cost and complexity to the product
2. Change your components in a non obvious way i.e., check attributes( such as characteristic of a component; or something that can vary) of component(i.e., part of a whole; or something you can see, touch or hear) by checking table
3. Try making multiple copies of components

DIVISION:

The division of a product and/or its components either physically or functionally. Structural Fixedness is challenged by division

Step 1: Start by listing a product's internal components

Step 2: Divide a product or its component functionally or physically & then start rearranging

Step 3:Visualize and consider the "virtual product"

Step 4: Ask yourself:

a.Should we do it?

b. Can we do it?

Step 5: Attempt to replace the function with something from the closed world

Quick Tips:

1. Try rearranging in both space (a new physical location) and time(appearing at a different time than other components)
2. Write steps on a separate sticky notes for easy rearranging
3. Try all three types of division methodology i.e., function, physical and preserving

ATTRIBUTE DEPENDENCY:

The creation or removal of dependencies between existing product properties. Relational Fixedness is challenged by attribute dependency technique

Step 1: Start up by listing internal and external attributes

Step 2: Create a two dimensional matrix

Step 3: Ask following:-

a.Does the dependency already exist between the two attributes

b.If yes, break it. If no, create it.

Step 4: Ask yourself

a.Should we do it?

b. Can we do it?

Attribute Dependency Matrix

1. Include attributes of time
2. Include price on the attribute list

Relational Fixedness: A bias that make it difficult to imagine two attributes in a system having some relation or connection.

Types of Dependency

1. Passive: Where nothing has to happen for the dependency to occur
2. Active: Where something has to happen for the dependency to occur
3. Automatic: Where something happening automatically causes the dependency to occur

Which dependency do I use?

Consider a. Convenience

b. Feasibility

Attribute Dependency tips:

1. Don't confuse component with Attribute
2. Make sure to prepare attribute dependency matrix
3. Create different type of dependency
4. Create dependency only for the things you can control
5. Use all three types of dependency

Look it over, and while you are doing that, think about the place where you can use them. Finally revisit SIT method and choose your favorite exercise among 5 of them. It is said when you have intention, opportunities show up.

All the best and stay tuned for my next article.